The 52-year practice comes to an end! Indian Railways to hand over Parliament dining room to ITDC next month

Indian Railways to End the Practice of Serving Food to Parliamentarians for 52 Years! On November 15, the North Indian Railways rail zone will hand over responsibility for the Parliament canteen to the government’s tourism arm, the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC). The Lok Sabha Secretariat has written to the zonal railway, which has been serving food in the dining room since 1968, asking to pack up and leave the Parliament premises. ITDC runs the five-star Ashok Group of luxury hotels, according to a PTI report. The letter stated that the competent authority wanted ITDC to take over the functions of the catering units at Parliament House Estate before 15 November.

The letter further stated that the zonal railway can consequently deliver the electronic devices, such as the computer printer, etc., provided to ITDC by the Lok Sabha Secretariat and the devices, furniture, etc., to CPWD for have them deliver them to ITDC. Last year, the process to find a new supplier began and this year, in July, the President of Lok Sabha Om Birla met with Tourism Minister Prahlad Patel as well as ITDC officials to discuss the theme. According to ITDC officials, they have been instructed to maintain a special focus on food quality, which should be suitable for both dignitaries and ordinary people.

Currently, the canteen serves about 5,000 people during each session. The canteen menu has 48 items in total for lunch and snack. While a joint committee on food management, at the 17th Lok Sabha, generally decides matters related to catering arrangements at the Parliament House Complex, however, the food committee has not been constituted. According to the report, President Birla made the final decision, taking a personal interest in ensuring better quality food is served in Parliament’s dining room, as well as ending subsidies. The end of the subsidies is expected to result in annual savings of around 17 million rupees for Parliament, the report added.